DxE News of the Week:

DXE MARCH AGAINST BIG AG IN PETALUMA, TRUMP HURTS ANIMAL AG, July 20-26, 2018

DxE News round-up by Rasa Petrauskaite

Animal Rights News round-up by Leslie Goldberg

SF CHRONICLE: MARCH AGAINST BIG AG & ANIMAL CRUELTY

In a round-up of upcoming political events, the San Francisco Chronicle continues to provide a link to the DxE Day of Action Facebook page that promotes the animal rights march in Petaluma on July 29. This promotion appeared on July 23, 24, and 26, and the previous week.

MARION WEST: THE TROUBLING EFFORT TO SILENCE ACTIVISTS

Overview of coverage by The Intercept of Big Ag’s attempt to silence activists. The writers note that Smithfield gave $310,000 to the Republican Attorney General Association, a group that funded Utah’s Sean Reyes campaign for attorney general. Earlier this year Reyes filed criminal charges against activists in DxE including co-founder Wayne Hsiung.

TETARTO PRESS: THREE-DAY PROTEST ON GREEK ISLAND

On the Greek island Santorini a 3-day protest led by several animal rights organizations, including DxE, began on July July 27 and will continue through July 29. The outreach focuses on educating the public about the suffering of donkeys on the island. These nonhuman animals are being used for transportation and to carry heavy loads in the hot weather with almost no access to water or shade.

OTHER ANIMAL RIGHTS NEWS:

VOX: TRUMP'S TARIFFS ARE HURTING ANIMAL AGRICULTURE

The United States now has a huge glut of cheese and meat thanks to overproduction caused by the selective breeding of animals and to Trump's tariffs. The tariffs have slowed American exports to China and Mexico. The tariffs have also caused the prices of grain and soybeans to decline, forcing down the price of feed and contributing to the glut.

WASHINGTON POST: THE $12 BILLION 'GOLDEN CRUTCHES'

To mitigate the damage his tariffs are doing to the agricultural industry including the animal agricultural industry, Trump is proposing to send checks to farmers to the tune of $12 billion. Congress is not happy and Republican senator Ben Sasse called the bail-out "golden crutches."

QUARTZ: ANIMAL AG - A CLIMATE CHANGE BEHEMOTH

A new report from the non-profit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy calls out the animal food industry for producing more greenhouse gas than any single oil company. The Institute points to the methane produced by animals, particularly cows, the energy that it takes to run a farm, the energy it takes to transport feed for the animals and the energy it takes to ship the "products." We have to note that the study failed to take into account the massive depletion of the rainforests to create pasture and crops for animals, as well as animal respiration. The UN has said that animal ag is a bigger contributor to climate change than the entire transportation sector.

ROLLING STONE: THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT IN THE CROSSHAIRS

The Endangered Species Act, which was introduced in the '70s by President Richard Nixon, is now endangered itself, despite massive public support for the law. Trump has proposed legislation that would effectively gut the Act. Another example of Republican support for Big Oil and Gas, Big Ag, Big Chemical and mining over people and animals.

MARKET WATCH: KFC GETS INTO THE PLANT-BASED ACT

KFC, the fast food mega chain, is developing a plant-based version of their fried chicken in response to an increasing demand for "meat replacements," the company says. The vegetarian "chicken" will be first marketed in the UK.